Mehidy takes centre stage as Bangladesh eye historic win in Australia

Leading up to the Test series against Australia, Mehidy Hasan Miraz lost his ODI captaincy to Litton Kumar Das as Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) officials felt that Mehidy was under too much pressure due to his captaincy stint and wanted him to focus on performing instead.

It could certainly be a psychological blow for the all-rounder, given that he had been given the mandate to lead the side until the next World Cup. However, judging by his performance in the lone warm-up match, where he scored a hundred, and in this Test so far, it appears to have hardly affected him.

When asked whether he came to Australia with a point to prove after being removed as ODI captain, Mehidy decided to choose his words carefully.

“I think it can happen (losing ODI captaincy) and my mind set up is clear at this moment,” said Mehidy.

“I know how to bowl the right area and how to get batting,” he added.

When Australia picked up three wickets in quick succession on Day 2, including the prized scalps of centurion Tanzid Hasan, Litton Kumar Das and Mushfiqur Rahim, it looked like the tourists were not far away from surrendering. However, Mehidy had other ideas.

Mehidy did not get enough time to stitch a partnership with Mushfiqur, but what he came up with alongside the tailenders not only put the tourists in the driving seat but also helped them eye a historic Test win against Australia in their own backyard.

Skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto's brilliant 84 had laid the platform, along with Tanzid, for a formidable total, but it all looked to be vanishing quickly after the hosts started proceedings with the second new ball. Mehidy, however, came up with a rescue act on Day 2 alongside Hasan Mahmud and continued to do so in the first session of the third day.

Bangladesh resumed the day on 351-6 but lost Hasan early. Taijul Islam later added a quick 17 off 23 balls, including a four and a six, before edging Hazlewood to Cameron Green at gully. Mehidy, however, continued to frustrate Australia as he brought up his 10th Test fifty from 117 balls.

Mehidy, who scored 65 runs from 154 balls, dug deep against the Australian attack as on the second day, batting for more than one and half hours while facing 73 balls. On the third day, while on the third he batted for exactly 124 minutes during which he faced 83 balls to tire out the opposition.

He stitched two valuable 46-run partnerships, with Hasan and Taskin respectively, and guided the lower-order batters meticulously. He scored 32 runs during his partnership with Hasan and contributed 30 during his ninth wicket partnership with Taskin.

What seemed to have worked for Mehidy was that he did not take all the pressure upon himself while batting. Rather, he gave his partners the confidence and importance to believe that they could handle the Australian attack, and they repaid his faith, if not anything else.

“Everyone is playing very good cricket and everyone is taking responsibility for each other. That feels very good. They (lower-order batters) batted very well and actually it was a bit tough for me to bat. Because when I came out, Mushfiqur bhai was out. So, the runs I scored, I needed to score with the bowlers and I think it was a bit challenging for me to score runs at that moment,” he said.

Later in the day, Mehidy also dismissed Steven Smith, who looked set for another substantial contribution after his 71 in the first innings. Smith chipped a delivery from Mehidy back towards the bowler, who completed a sharp return catch, dismissing him for 44.

The off-spinner played with Smith’s mind by varying his pace. He feels that his plan of making sure that the batters did not score off him proved dividends.

“We just concentrated on bowling in the right areas and I knew I cannot be giving him (Smith) too many scoring options. I know he is a very good player and he is doing very well but if we are not giving many runs we can take his wicket and we just think like that (as far as bowling to Smith is concerned),” said Mehidy.

“I just keep my plan simple. I'm not giving as many scoring options and I just try to bowl the good area all the time and keep changing the line and length,” he added.

Following Smith's departure, murmurs began of Bangladesh earning a huge win over the Aussies, even an innings-win if possible, though Mehidy insisted that they are not looking too far ahead.

“Look, the wicket is still in good condition. And we are not really thinking like that (defeating them by an innings margin). We are trying to bowl in good places. Because to take every wicket, you have to bowl hard. Because we see that the wicket is not that easy, the wickets that we have taken have been taken with great difficulty. So we are trying to prevent as many runs as possible,” he said.

“Look, we want the fewer runs, the better for us. So, there are still two days left in the game. It is very important for us to get three wickets out of here. Because they all bat well. And the wicket is getting better as the day goes on. So, I think we are trying to take small steps without thinking about too many targets,” he added.

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